A Beginner’s Guide to Fascism, Part II

At first, Mussolini opposed World War I. He was a socialist and raised in radical working class family who named him after Benito Juarez. Later, he joined joined the pro-war socialists who advocated Italy joining France and Great Britain against the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. They argued that these empires were more oppresive and by fighting a “revolutionary war” they could create new opportunities for the Italian working class and liberate the subjects of the evil empires. Italy was victorious in battle, but was swimming in debt due to the war. Italy also failed to get the former German colonies in Africa or any of Austria’s former possessions in the Balkans.